Greeley-Evans School District 6, and Weld County districts, see mixed TCAP results

Jeff Petersen, assistant principal at Heath Middle School, left, talks to teachers about TCAP results and end of the year assessments as he and Blakley Wallace, principal of Heath Middle School, go over the test results last year at the school.

Jeff Petersen, assistant principal at Heath Middle School, shuffles through TCAP results and end of the year assessments as he and Blakley Wallace, principal of Heath Middle School, go over the results with a few teachers in 2013.

Windsor Academy’s third grade scored 94, meaning 94 percent of the third graders were proficient or advanced.

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Despite four all-time high scores and a host of other highlights, Transitional Colorado Assessment Program scores from Greeley-Evans School District 6 students were down slightly from last year.

The 2013-14 tests showed declines from the previous year in 11 areas and improvements in 10 areas in the percentage of students who scored well enough on the TCAP to be included in the proficient or advanced categories.

In three areas, scores remained stagnant.

District 6 Executive Director of Learning Services Stacie Datteri said the district flattened out a year after a strong showing last year, which she called “the best improvement this district has seen.”

But administrators, armed with a myriad colorful charts at a Greeley Tribune editorial board meeting, were prepared to battle for perception.

The district said it closed the gap or maintained the gap with the state averages in 21 of 24 content areas. But rounding made that math fuzzy. When two decimal points are accounted for, the district instead maintained or closed gaps in 15 of 24 content areas.

Double-digit increases in reading (16 grades at various schools), writing (13 grades) and math (18 grades) were also noted with enthusiasm.

But the conclusion by district officials that “more students are learning as evidenced in 2014 TCAP results…” doesn’t necessarily follow from the data.

District officials replied to that line of thinking by saying stark conclusions, both positive and negative, should not be drawn from this year’s data. They added that any drops in the data were small, compared to huge gains.

But if West Ridge’s astounding 23 percentage points gain are taken out of the equation, the district’s average gains (7.17) and losses (7.71) are pretty similar.

Elsewhere in the county, results were mixed as well. Here are five things to know about TCAPs in Weld County:

1. Achievement does not equal growth

Eaton Re-2 and Windsor Re-4 school districts left other Weld County districts in the dust with an average cumulative proficient or advanced percentage of 71. But that list was turned on its ear when looked at through a growth perspective. Platte Valley, in the middle of the pack in achievement (59), was first in growth, gaining 2.25 percentage points over last year. Fort Lupton was last in achievement (45) and moved to second in growth.

2. The best of the best

The best score in the county this year belongs to 10th grade reading students at Union Colony, 95 percent of whom scored proficient or advanced. That 95 percent sits in stark contrast with the state’s 10th-grade reading average of 69.

3. Mathematicians

Nearly 70 percent of eighth-grade math classes across the county improved their TCAP math scores from last year. That was the highest percentage improvement of any grade or subject level.

4. Weld Central winning

Fifth-graders in the Weld Central Re-3J School District had the highest percentage improvement across content areas among districts with more than one elementary school. Kids at Hoff Elementary School, Lochbuie Elementary School, Hudson Academy and Cardinal Academy combined to improve in 11 of 12 content areas (92 percent).

5. Small slice of improvement

Just two school districts in Weld County, Platte Valley Re-7 and Fort Lupton Re-8, showed cumulative improvement compared to last year’s scores. Platte Valley improved its cumulative total percentage of kids who scored proficient or advanced by 2.25 percentage points. Fort Lupton improved by about a quarter of a percentage point. At the other end of the spectrum, Highland Re-9’s cumulative score went down by 6.58 percentage points.